Angel in Her Bed
by Kat Lee formerly Pirate Turner
Summary: Piper knows to whom her heart truly belongs. Fluffy CPi LPh Het AU!


Title: "Angel in Her Bed"  
Author: Kat Lee  
Rating: PG-13/T  
Summary: Piper knows to whom her heart truly belongs.  
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, names, codenames, places, items, fandoms, titles, and etc. are always © & TM their respective owners, not the author, and are used without permission. Any and all original characters and everything else is © & TM the author and may not be reproduced in any way without the author's express, written permission. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.

She often wonders about the two men who feature most predominantly in her life. She's loved both of them, been saved by both, but only been hurt by one. It's ironic, she thinks, leaning up on her elbow so that she can watch her lover sleep in one of his rare, peaceful moments, that the one whose betrayal cut her so deeply that she'd thought she would never love again was the very one who'd been chosen by the Powers That Be to protect her and her sisters.

She can hear him downstairs now, taking Phoebe right on the kitchen table. She bites back a shudder, because she knows the sound will wake the man she truly loves. The two are disgusting. They're like young rabbits in heat, and she makes a mental note to scrub her table clean several times before cooking breakfast. She sighs and lays her head on husband's bare chest. They've got to move out of here soon, the Power of Three be damned.

They have their own lives to live, and they can't tolerate Phoebe and Leo's antics forever. This isn't the first time Piper's considered moving out of the Manor since she and her sisters came into their Witchly powers, but it will be their first successful move. They have to get out of here for their own sanity and peace. Besides, if they don't move out soon, she's bound to lose her temper with Phoebe, Leo, or possibly even both one time too many and explode them.

She can't stand the thought of hurting her baby sister, and she won't admit that the idea of exploding the White Lighter does still have a certain temptation to it. She smiles a lop-sided smile at the thought, remembering for a moment when she was bad and did just that. Then her thoughts grow serious again as she wonders if the Powers That Be could have seen this twist that lay in wait for them and that was the true reason why they didn't want her to be with Leo or give them any chance of an even semi-normal life.

Nah, she quickly decides as the silence in the bedroom she's had for most of her life is interrupted by her man's deep snore, they couldn't have known that Leo would turn out to be a jerk who was hitting on her sister behind her back. They couldn't have known that Phoebe's fiance, once he was freed completely of evil, would fall in love with her. They couldn't have known that he would care for them all so deeply that he would take the Hollow into him or that Piper would be the only one who recognized the reason for the change in him and fight as hard as she had to find a way to free him.

Piper traces Cole's gently rising and falling chest with her fingers. Her fingertip circles his right nipple before she lays her palm over his heart. She listens to the sound of his breathing while feeling his heart beat beneath her hand. It's an intoxicating feeling to know that this strong man was so willing to give everything for her family and that his entire heart belongs to her.

He loves her not because their love is forbidden or because she's sweet and powerful, both of which had been amongst Leo's biggest turn ons, or because she's Phoebe's older sister. He loves her for her, and he's come so close to sacrificing his life to save hers now more times than she cares to remember. She turns her head and kisses his flesh beneath her cheek.

Those times aren't going to end any time soon. Even when they move out, she'll still be the eldest of the Power of Three, and they'll still have to fight Demons. Nothing's ever going to change who or what she is, or he is, the big, bad Belthazor who almost killed the Charmed Ones more than once. Nothing will change their past, but then, Piper finally believes with all of her heart, nothing will change their future either.

Away from Leo and Phoebe, they'll be free to love when and as they choose without appearing to be the wanton trollop that her sister's and Leo's screams tell her Phoebe's acting like now. They won't have to look at Leo or Phoebe unless they're fighting alongside them to save the world. They won't have to answer to any one most of the time except for each other.

Piper's grin grows. She could easily get used to answering to Cole for the rest of her life, and yet she knows he'll never boss her around like Leo sometimes tried to do. He'll never order her or try to send her headfirst into danger without him or hold her back. He'll always be beside her, doing his best to make her happy and their every difference into a compromise. He'll be the man with whom she's always dreamed of spending the rest of her life.

He is already the one who's always there for her, never letting her fight any Demons alone now, never leaving her when she needs him, never shimmering out to go care for another charge. He's the one who lays beside her every now, holding her gently, rocking her to sleep when they lose an innocent or she remembers Prue too dearly to be able to sleep well. He's the one who dries her tears and holds her hair back when she's sick. He's the one who's constant in her life now, and she knows he always will be.

He won't disappear on her like Leo did. He won't be frivolous with her heart. He won't claim to love her and love another, especially another Halliwell, instead. His heart will always belong to her, and hers to him. Together, no matter how Demons they have to fight or how many times they must risk their lives to save the world, they will make their future a bright place. Together, they will love each other for the rest of their lives.

It almost took her too long to realize the truth, but Piper knows to whom her heart belongs and always will. She knows, too, that he loves her just as much as she does him and that, though their physical natures might be reversed, Leo's not the one in her world with real wings. Her Angel's laying right here with her in her bed while the White Lighter was the one who almost broke her heart and would have, too, if it hadn't been Cole's to keep instead of Leo's to break.

She kisses Cole again, and he stirs at last. His arms are already around her, holding her gently on top of him, when his eyes crack open. He grins down at her. "It's moving day."

She looks at him in surprise. "What?"

His smile grows as he listens to her heartbeat speeding up. "It's moving day," he repeats. "We got that house you wanted."

"But - But I thought we couldn't afford it!"

His smile is full of love and affection only for her; it makes her heart sing with even more joy. "I helped the owner out with a little problem he was having." She quirks an eyebrow; he laughs. "No, I didn't cause it."

"I didn't say you would."

"But you thought it."

"Guilty."

"Piper," he tells her, cupping her face gently and lovingly in his big, strong hands and gazing adoringly into her brown eyes, "I would do anything for you - you know that -, but I'll never hurt an innocent again."

"I know," she tells him. She leans up and kisses him deeply, letting all the love, affection, desire, and passion she feels for him alone pour into their shared kiss. She lifts her head too soon for both of them, eager to be about their business and the brand new world of living alone together in their new lifestyle. "You still have to tell me all about it."

He laughs and brushes a loose strand of her long, black hair behind her ear. "I will," he promises, "over breakfast."

Piper frowns. "I don't want to cook again until we're in our new home."

He winks at her. "I didn't say anything about you cooking, sweetheart. I love your food, but I was thinking more along the lines of breakfast in Paris."

She needs no further encouragement to hop off of him. They dress quickly, and then he shimmers them across the world while holding tightly to her. Piper's swept away immediately by the romanticness of the man she loves, and she knows he'll keep her in awe for all the rest of their days. She can't wait to officially start their lives alone together, but it will wait just a little while longer - just a while longer after breakfast in France and several more "I love you"s.

**The End**


End file.
